Ibis Flyer

I hope this newsletter submission finds you all enjoying Term 2 and that all of the mums, grandmothers, carers and special people in our students lives had a wonderful Mother’s Day on Sunday. I spent the day visiting Moonlit Sanctuary with my family and then had dinner with my mum in the evening. Last Friday morning  we had great support from parents and carers who assisted with our Mother’s Day Stall. Thank you also to Sarah from our office who coordinated our Mother’s Day Stall. On Friday afternoon we had a great turn out from Mothers, Grandmothers, Carers and special people who came along for our open afternoon. I was lucky enough to visit most classes and it was wonderful to see children with their mums and special people participating in a range of activities and experiences. I would like to send out my very best wishes to all of our mums and special people in the lives of our students. Thank you for being there always to provide support and guidance.

Friday 16 May is Education Support Staff Day. We will be celebrating our wonderful Education Support Staff who do so much in support of our students and our school. Thank you to Jenny, Zoe, Sarah, Cassy, Brooke, Kirsty and Sam. We want you to know how much we appreciate everything that you do here at Balnarring Primary School.

On Friday 2 May we held our whole school cross country. The weather was fantastic and it was great to see so many students in house colours participating in our cross country. In the lead up to the cross country I spoke with some students about how they were going to go about completing the event, this is what they had to say:

• Huxley, Year 1 – I am going to sprint, jog and do normal running, that is my strategy.
• Miles, Year 1- You jog until you get to Georgia Minotti, then you sprint until the end!
• Luca, Year 1 – I am going to run, jog and sprint at different times depending on how I am feeling out on the track.

Thank you to Mr Shannon who organised our cross country event and to all the families who came along on the day.

On Saturday 3 May we were an official AEC polling location with our gym being used for voting in the election. I would like to acknowledge two of our parents Glen D and Anna R who coordinated a sausage sizzle on site for election day. We had a number of other parents, carers, grandparents also volunteer their time to assist. All funds raised from our democracy sausage sizzle will go towards caring for our wetlands.

Today we welcomed back our Year 5 students from Sovereign Hill Camp. By all accounts, it sounds like they had a fabulous time. As I waved them off on the bus when they departed from school many of the students told me that they were most looking forward to gold panning. I am sure they will have many great stories to share with their families and will be happy to have a restful night after the journey home.

I am pleased to share with our school community the Balnarring Way Expectations Matrix. This matrix captures the key ideas behind the Balnarring Way and breaks this down into clear expectations that staff and students can use across the school. As you move around our school you may notice the matrix up on display in various locations and this is to prompt and remind our students of the consistent expectations that we have across all classes throughout the school. Staff can use the matrix to clearly show students what success looks like and then acknowledge them when they successfully demonstrate these Balnarring Way expectations. This helps to promote safe and predictable learning environments for all students. I encourage families to speak with their children about the Balnarring Way matrix and the focus areas that we are currently practising across the school.

With Term 2 now underway, it is time to enrol for Foundation 2026. For families who have children who will be starting school next year, please contact our office to collect an enrolment form, register for our mini scientist program for pre school aged children and their parents/carers or feel free to come along to a school tour or our upcoming Foundation Information Evening. Please encourage any local families to come along for a school tour and see first hand what Balnarring Primary School has to offer.

Bethany Jackson
Principal